B — Bien, Souverain-bien
Original French
SOUVERAIN BIEN.
L’Antiquité a beaucoup disputé sur le souverain bien; autant aurait-il valu demander ce que c’est que le souverain bleu, ou le souverain ragoût, le souverain marcher, le souverain lire &c.
Chacun met son bien où il peut, & en a autant qu’il peut à sa façon.
Quid dem, quid non dem, renuis tu quod jubet alter.Castor gaudet equis, ovo prognatus eodem pugnis.
Le plus grand bien est celui qui vous délecte avec tant de force qu’il vous met dans l’impuissance totale de sentir autre chose; comme le plus grand mal est celui qui va jusqu’à nous priver de tout sentiment. Voilà les deux extrêmes de la nature humaine, & ces deux moments sont courts.
Il n’y a ni extrêmes délices, ni extrêmes tourments qui puissent durer toute la vie: le souverain bien & le souverain mal sont des chimères.
Nous avons la belle fable de Crantor; il fait comparaître aux jeux Olimpiques la richesse, la volupté, la santé, la vertu; chacune demande la pomme: la richesse dit, C’est moi qui suis le souverain bien, car avec moi on achète tous les biens: la volupté dit, La pomme m’apartient, car on ne demande la richesse que pour m’avoir: la santé assure que sans elle il n’y a point de volupté, & que la richesse est inutile: enfin la vertu représente qu’elle est au-dessus des trois autres; parce qu’avec de l’or, des plaisirs & de la santé, on peut se rendre très misérable si on se conduit mal. La vertu eut la pomme.
La fable est très ingénieuse, mais elle ne résout point la question absurde du souverain bien. La vertu n’est pas un bien, c’est un devoir; elle est d’un genre différent, d’un ordre supérieur; elle n’a rien à voir aux sensations douloureuses, ou agréables. L'homme vertueux avec la pierre & la goutte, sans appui, sans amis, privé du nécessaire, persécuté, enchaîné par un tiran voluptueux qui se porte bien, est très malheureux; & le persécuteur insolent qui caresse une nouvelle maîtresse sur son lit de pourpre est très heureux. Dites que le sage persécuté est préférable à son insolent persécuteur, dites que vous aimez l’un, & que vous détestez l’autre; mais avoüez que le sage dans les fers enrage. Si le sage n’en convient pas, il vous trompe, c’est un charlatan.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation of the 73 articles in the 1764 first edition, made directly from the French and reviewed against the scan-collated French text. The author’s notes, quotations and verse are retained. Historical ethnic labels, including offensive terms, are retained from the 1764 text.
The highest good.
Antiquity disputed much about the highest good; it would have been as much to the point to ask what is the highest blue, or the highest ragout, the highest walking, the highest reading, etc.
Everyone places his good where he can, and has as much of it as he can, in his own fashion.
What shall I give, what not? You refuse what another commands.Castor delights in horses; the twin born of the same egg, in fists.
The greatest good is that which delights you with such force that it makes you utterly incapable of feeling anything else; as the greatest evil is that which goes so far as to deprive us of all feeling. Those are the two extremes of human nature, and those two moments are short.
Neither extreme delights nor extreme torments can last a whole life: the highest good and the highest evil are chimeras.
We have the fine fable of Crantor; he brings wealth, pleasure, health and virtue before the Olympic games; each asks for the apple. Wealth says: “I am the highest good, for with me one buys all goods.” Pleasure says: “The apple belongs to me, for wealth is sought only to have me.” Health insists that without her there is no pleasure, and wealth is useless. Finally virtue argues that she stands above the other three, because with gold, pleasures and health one can make oneself very miserable through bad conduct. Virtue received the apple.
The fable is very ingenious, but it does not resolve the absurd question of the highest good. Virtue is not a good, it is a duty; it is of a different kind, of a superior order; it has nothing to do with painful or agreeable sensations. The virtuous man suffering from stones and gout, without support, without friends, deprived of necessities, persecuted, chained by a pleasure-loving tyrant in good health, is very unhappy; and the insolent persecutor who caresses a new mistress on his bed of purple is very happy. Say that the persecuted sage is preferable to his insolent persecutor, say that you love the one and detest the other; but admit that the sage in irons is in a rage. If the sage does not admit it, he deceives you; he is a charlatan.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Plain English translation of the same 73 articles, made directly from the French and reviewed against the scan-collated French text. The author’s notes, quotations and verse are retained. Historical ethnic labels, including offensive terms, are retained from the 1764 text.
The highest good.
Ancient thinkers argued endlessly over the highest good. They might just as well have asked about the highest blue. Or the highest stew, the highest walking, the highest reading, etc.
People put their good wherever they can find it. They get as much as they can, each in their own way.
What should I give, what shouldn’t I? You turn down what another demands.Castor loves horses; his brother from that same egg loves boxing.
The greatest good gives you such intense delight that you can’t feel anything else at all. The greatest evil, likewise, takes away every feeling. Those are the extremes of human nature. Neither moment lasts long.
You can’t spend your whole life in utter delight or utter torment. A highest good and a highest evil are imaginary things.
Crantor left us a fine fable. Wealth, pleasure, health, and virtue appear at the Olympic Games. Each wants the apple. “I’m the highest good,” says wealth. “With me, you can buy all good things.” Pleasure says, “The apple’s mine. People only want wealth so they can get me.” Health says there’s no pleasure without her, and wealth is no use. Last comes virtue. She says she ranks above the other three. You can have gold, pleasures, and health and still make yourself deeply miserable by behaving badly. Virtue gets the apple.
It’s a clever fable, but it doesn’t answer that absurd question about the highest good. Virtue isn’t a good; it’s a duty. It belongs to a different, higher category. Painful and pleasant feelings have nothing to do with it. Picture a virtuous man suffering from bladder stones and gout. He has no support, no friends, not even life’s necessities. He’s persecuted and chained by a tyrant who’s healthy and loves pleasure. That virtuous man is very unhappy. Meanwhile, his arrogant persecutor strokes a new mistress on his purple bed. He’s very happy. Say the persecuted wise man is better than his arrogant persecutor. Say you love the first and hate the second. But admit that the wise man is raging in his chains. If he won’t admit it, he’s lying to you. He’s a fraud.
About this section
B — Bien, Souverain-bien is part of Pocket Philosophical Dictionary by Voltaire. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is article 15 of 73 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the European tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.